In this May 23, 2017, photo, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, left, and his wife Ivanka Trump watch during a visit by President Donald Trump to Yad Vashem to honor the victims of the Holocaust in Jerusalem. The Washington Post is reporting that the FBI is investigating meetings that Trump’s son-in-law, Kushner, had in December 2016, with Russian officials. Kushner, a key White House adviser, had meetings late last year with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, and Russian banker Sergey Gorkov. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Sound

The gallery will resume inseconds

(FILES) This file photo taken on February 16, 2017 shows Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner arriving to attend US President Donald Trump's press conference at the White House in Washington, DC.
The activities of President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior aide Jared Kushner have come under FBI scrutiny as part of the probe of Russian interference in last year's presidential election, US media reported May 25, 2017. Although it is unclear whether Kushner is a main focus of the probe, he is under investigation for the "extent and nature" of his interaction with Russian officials, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMMNICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump delivers a speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit, at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center, Sunday, May 21, 2017, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. From left, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Ivanka Trump, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US President Donald Trump (2nd L), senior advisor Jared Kushner (3rd L), first lady Melania Trump (C) and Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter, listens to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch (R) during a visit to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City on May 22, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Heidi Levine (Photo credit should read HEIDI LEVINE/AFP/Getty Images)

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, left, talks with White House chief of staff Reince Priebus during a signing ceremony between President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salam, at the Royal Court Palace, Saturday, May 20, 2017, in Riyadh. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump make their way across the South Lawn to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC on May 4, 2017. The two are travelling with US President Donald Trump to New York, NY. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

AP Photo/Alex Brandon/File

FILE - In this Thursday, April 6, 2017, file photo, Ivanka Trump, second from right, the daughter and assistant to President Donald Trump, is seated with her husband White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, right, during a dinner with President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Fla. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang on Wednesday defended the handling of the applications of the trademarks won by U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her company, saying that all such requests are handled fairly. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

King Salman of Saudi Arabia just elevated his somewhat reckless 31-year-old son Prince Mohammed to become crown prince, and the White House is thrilled.

The prince has bonded with First Son-in-Law Jared Kushner, hosting him and Ivanka Trump for dinner at his home when the pair traveled with the president to Saudi Arabia. The closeness of these two “princes” syncs perfectly with the emerging Trump Doctrine of foreign policy.

Call it the “Big Man Doctrine.”

Based on his performance over five months, President Trump clearly believes communing with autocrats (or having Kushner act as surrogate) is the key to a great deal. Autocrats are easier to deal with than democratic leaders beholden to parliaments. And the thought of going mano a mano with friendly tyrants has a familiar ring to a man convinced he is the master of the deal.

Only one problem: based on Trump’s experience so far with the Saudi royal family, with Xi Jinping of China, and with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the Big Man Doctrine has been a big bust.

Let’s start with the Saudis. Yes, the president, and his family, got a royal reception and signed big arms deals. And yes, the Saudis put on a show of pulling together Sunni Arab states into a sort of Arab NATO that would stand tall against the Islamic State and Iran.

But, by lining up 100 percent behind the Saudi king who treated them so grandly, Trump and Kushner have embroiled the United States in a big mess.

The Arab NATO has already proved to be a mirage. Saudi royalty have launched a personal vendetta and blockade against one member, Qatar. Never mind that Qatar hosts the biggest U.S. air base in the region, which is the headquarters for U.S. Central Command. And Kushner’s buddy, Prince Mohammed, seems eager to drag an unwitting Trump further into a losing Saudi war in Yemen and, if possible, into attacking Iran.

Yet the Big Man Doctrine gives Trump the excuse to ignore the warnings from knowledgeable advisers. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis wanted to mediate the Qatar issue, not exacerbate it. But Trump has stiffed them, tweeting support for the Saudi monarchy against Qatar.

The Big Man Doctrine hasn’t worked out any better with China. Trump wined and dined Xi Jinping in April at Mar-a-Lago and thought he had convinced the Chinese leader to get tough on North Korea. Indeed, the president damped down all previous criticism of Beijing on trade and on militarizing the South China Sea, because he believed he’d talked Xi into cutting economic ties with Pyongyang.

Last week, the president uncharacteristically tweeted an admission of failure on China and North Korea. “At least I know China tried!” he wrote.

Does he?

Almost any China expert would have told Trump that Xi wasn’t likely to blockade Pyongyang;

Trump still seems to dream of a deal with Putin. He still refuses to recognize that Russian espionage involves a threat to U.S. security, irrespective of who won the election campaign.

Which brings us to the biggest risk of the “Big Man Doctrine.” By personalizing foreign policy, by making it about him, his family, and their potential deals, Trump misunderstands the role of a president. He refuses to recognize he’s dealing with issues of far greater magnitude than the display of his bargaining skills.

The president’s dealings with King Salman and Xi, and his hopes for Putin have achieved little because they’ve been based on a crippled foreign policy process and a woeful presidential lack of knowledge. Personal relationships between leaders can be useful, but a Big Man foreign policy doctrine will lead to grief.